[Travelandtourism] Tracking the spill: NOAA says risk has decreased for most of Florida

[cheryl echevarria]

>From Travel Weekly Magazine

Tracking the spill: NOAA says risk has decreased for most of Florida
June 23, 2010
A change in ocean currents has minimized impact risks from the BP oil spill 
in the Gulf of Mexico for the Florida Keys and most of the Florida 
peninsula, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA suspended production of its daily maps that tracked the possible 
trajectory of the oil into the Florida Keys because of a change in the Loop 
Current, which could have carried oil down Florida's west coast into the 
Florida Straits between the Florida Keys and Cuba and up into the Gulf 
Stream.

Billy Causey, superintendent of the southeast region for NOAA's National 
Marine Sanctuaries, said that the northern end of the Loop Current "has been 
pinched off into a large clockwise eddy. Thus, there is no clear path for 
spilled oil to enter the Loop Current from the spill source in the northern 
Gulf of Mexico 500 miles northwest of Key West."

NOAA warned that although conditions could change, any oil that might appear 
would be in the form of tar balls. Even then, it's not known if the tar 
balls would wind up near shore, on coastlines or float by in deeper water.

NOAA will resume production of the maps if needed.

The Florida Keys tourism council's website at www.fla-keys.com features NOAA 
information, live webcams and weekly videos that show the current status of 
tourism offerings.

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